Landscaping Progress

Now that we have landscaped along the side of the deck, the next goal is to plant in front of the deck as well.  Let's look at the deck a year ago:

Since that photo was taken, we have stained the deck, bought lattice to close up the front, stained said lattice, and as mentioned above, removed the rocks, planted and laid sod along the side of the deck.  

The other day, I bought a magnolia bush; it's called a magnolia Anne, and it will grow to be 8-10' tall.  There was a magnolia that lived in front of our old apartment building, and although the blooms only lasted a little over seven days, we loved it.  We saw it bloom for six springs; hopefully we'll see our own magnolia flower for many more.

The placement of this plant was very important.  I had to think carefully about not only where in front of the deck should it live and grow, but give it plenty of room to do so.

Once I selected a spot, I dug up the grass around the pot to mark it:

Then I dug the hole for the magnolia:

Then I proceeded to create the bed, digging up the grass (which can be hard!  Grass can be really stubborn!), trenching, and joining this bed with the one along the side of the deck.  Then I planted our gorgeous magnolia!

I also removed the lattice on the front of the deck, and installed a landscaping edger that I pulled up from along the fence when the rocks still lived there.  This would keep the rocks under the deck from getting mixed in with the landscaping.

When Ryan's family recently visited, they gave us Iris bulbs, which I planted next to the magnolia and in the corner between the side and the front of the deck.  When they grow in next year hopefully they will bloom well and fill that space.  It's a long time to wait!

At this point, a storm started to roll in; it was thundering and the sky was turning dark, so I had to be quick.  I decided to wrap things up and pull up the rest of the grass and finish the bed later.

I reinstalled the lattice and took one last quick pic before it started raining:

It doesn't look very good, but it's a start.  I only built the bed as far as the magnolia; eventually, it will stretch across the entire front of the deck.  I am going to plant one or two lilac bushes, and then transplant the peonies and some daylilies and hostas that are currently languishing in front of the house.  When I picture it in my head, it looks great!